Snowmobiles are designed for travel over snow on a variety of terrains. However, due to its size, a snowmobile may be restricted from navigating areas where obstacles (e.g., vegetation) are dense. Notably, the snowmobile typically includes two laterally-spaced skis which impart a significant width to the snowmobile such that maneuvering between obstacles may be difficult. In order to address this, in some snowmobiles, the skis can be adjusted to be positioned closer to one another. Nevertheless, certain components of the snowmobile's powertrain may still impose a significant width to the snowmobile.
In some cases, a motorcycle may be adapted to travel over snow by replacing its front and rear wheels by a ski and a tracked suspension assembly respectively, thus resulting in a relatively narrow vehicle capable of travelling over snow. However, motorcycles are generally not optimized for winter use and may thus exhibit poor performance when modified as described. For example, due to the configuration of the motorcycle's powertrain (including, for example, its engine and transmission), the weight distributed on the ski and the tracked suspension assembly may not be optimal for travelling over snow. Furthermore, certain components, such as the motorcycle's transmission, may not be suited for interaction with snow.
For these and other reasons, there is a desire for modification to existing snowmobile designs.